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Why India is silent on US interference in Bangladesh

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There have been several reports in the domestic and foreign media that India has sent a clear diplomatic message criticizing the role of the United States (US) ahead of the upcoming general elections in Bangladesh.
However, none of these reports directly quoted any Indian government source. Hence, some people are claiming that they are “fabricated news”.
Even Bangladesh’s main opposition party BNP has a similar stance.
However, the reality is that India has very clearly conveyed its objections to the visa policy that the US imposed on Bangladesh.
These issues have been raised both in writing on the diplomatic channel and verbally in discussions between the two countries’ top officials. However, India has not issued any official statement in this regard due to diplomatic obligations.
Explaining the issue, a senior official of Delhi’s South Block said: “There is no reason to think that we will not do anything, where India’s strategic interests are directly involved. But if we directly and publicly address the matter, it could be viewed as if India was interfering in the internal politics of Bangladesh or trying to unnecessarily interfere in the visa policy of a third country.”

To avoid that unwanted controversy or criticism, India has decided to remain silent on the issue, at least publicly, they said.
Several Bangladesh observers, former diplomats, and experts close to the ruling party in New Delhi said that they were 100% certain that India had made its objections clear to the US.
Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, former high commissioner of India in Dhaka, said: “The US uses the issue of democracy or human rights as a political or diplomatic tool, but it is nothing new. When I was in the service, even in the 1990s, I saw how they wanted to achieve their interests on the nuclear issue by pressuring India about human rights.
“However, their plan was not successful. But now they want to apply the same old trick for Bangladesh, I think. They certainly have some other motive behind it, though it’s not very clear.”
Chakravarty added that the relationship between India and the US has changed in the past one or two decades, and they hold regular Indo-US dialogues.
“India must have told the US, not to pressure Bangladesh too much – as it will not benefit anyone. It might even hamper the regional peace and stability,” he added.
Under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has been moving forward in the last decade and a half in a liberal and secular polity. “My reading is that this is exactly what we told Washington.”
Sreeradha Datta
Sreeradha Datta, Bangladesh researcher, Jindal School of International Affairs, said: “Look, I have no doubt that India is playing a ‘China card’ here. I mean, India wants to send America a clear message, which is the more you want to corner the government in Bangladesh in the name of democracy, the more they will be forced to turn to China.”
She added that a similar incident had already happened in Myanmar. “Yet America has not learned any lessons from it.”
The query that might come up is why India if it has expressed its opposition to the US, is not making a public declaration about it, Datta added.
“The answer is that this cannot be done with an independent sovereign and more than fifty-year-old state! Bangladesh will not like it either. On the contrary, if India makes a statement about it, it will convey that ‘Bangladesh has nothing to worry about, India is dealing with this with America!’ And so Delhi’s silence is also understandable,” she explained.
Dr Suvrokamal Dutta, foreign policy expert, said there is a significant indication that India is countering the US stance on the Bangladesh issue. This is evident from the fact that the US’ eagerness regarding the Bangladesh elections has decreased.
“My sources say that India is slowly able to convince the US administration that unwarranted interference in Bangladesh is a loss to everyone. Even the language used by the US ambassador in Dhaka has taken on a more gentle tone,” he said.
“And why shouldn’t India talk about it? Our past experience shows that whenever the BNP or its allianceJamaat-e-Islami came to power in Bangladesh, bilateral relations have been disrupted, fundamentalist forces emerged, and Hindus suffered – and the effects of that instability have also reached India,” he said.
So there is nothing wrong in warning America in advance about this. “As far as I know, That’s exactly what India is doing – and doing it with 100% diplomatic prudence.”
The US visa policy
US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken on May announced a new visa policy for Bangladeshi individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process.

The individuals who fall under this policy include current and former Bangladeshi officials, members of pro-government and opposition political parties, and members of law enforcement, the judiciary, and security services, Blinken said in a statement.

In a Tweet, he added that the visa restrictions would apply to the immediate family members of such persons.

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The policy was declared under Section 212(a)(3)(C) (“3C”) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to support Bangladesh’s goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful national elections.

The actions to be treated as a disqualification for a US visa include vote rigging, voter intimidation, the use of violence to prevent people from exercising their right to freedoms of association and peaceful assembly, and the use of measures designed to prevent political parties, voters, civil society, or the media from disseminating their views.

Politics

Foreign powers like US behind my ouster: Indian media quotes Hasina

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In what is being called in Indian media to be her first statement since resigning and fleeing the country on August 5, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has accused foreign powers like the US of playing a hand in her ouster.

Indian news outlet The Print in an article today said it had seen the message conveyed to Hasina’s Awami League supporters. India’s Economic Times also carried an article about the message, which The Daily Frontline has not been able to independently verify.

“I could have remained in power if I had left St Martin and the Bay of Bengal to America,” she said in the message.

According to The Print, the Hasina government saw strained relations with the US for many years. Ahead of January’s elections this year, she said “a white man” had offered her a smooth return to power in exchange for an airbase.

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Hasina also warned the new interim government not to be “used” by such foreign powers.

Led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the new interim government was sworn in on Thursday night, three days after Hasina’s ouster.

“I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over your [students’] bodies, I did not allow it. I came with power,” read Hasina’s statement.

“Maybe if I was in the country today, more lives would have been lost, more wealth would have been destroyed,” she added.

She is also expected to address the media while in India next week, The Print article said.

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Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled Bangladesh on August 5, when a student-led protest culminated in a mass uprising against her Awami League government.

More than 400 people were killed in the preceding three weeks, a majority of them in police firing and firing by Awami League activists.

The US is Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investor.

In her message to supporters and party cadres, she vowed to return to the country, though accepting her defeat.

“I will return soon inshAllah. The defeat is mine but the victory is [that of] the people of Bangladesh,” she stated.

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“I removed myself, I came with your victory, you were my strength, you did not want me, I myself then left, resigned. My workers who are there, no one will lose morale. Awami League has stood up again and again,” she added, according to The Print.

The former prime minister also accused people of distorting her words.

“I want to repeat to my young students, I never called you Razakars … My words have been distorted. A group has taken advantage of your danger,” she said in the message.

The term “Razakar” is considered to be derogatory in Bangladesh as it refers to ‘volunteers’ who collaborated with the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence.

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Regulator orders freeze on bank accounts of Hasan Mahmud, family members

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The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has ordered banks to freeze all accounts of former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud and his family members.

A senior official of the anti-money laundering agency confirmed it.

The BFIU asked the banks to block all types of withdrawals through the individual or business accounts of Hasan Mahmud, his wife Nuran Fatema, and their daughter Nafisa Jumyina Mahmud.

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Police can’t be used as killers, henchmen anymore: Sakhawat

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Home Affairs Adviser Brigadier General (Retired) M Sakhawat Hussain today said members of the police force cannot be used as killers or henchmen anymore.

“Police has been given lethal weapons. I was surprised to see 7.62 (firearms) at police’s hand. They were given those weapons 15 to 20 years back … Police should not be given these weapons,” the adviser said.

He was talking to media at the Central Police Hospital in Dhaka after visiting police members who suffered injuries in clashes during the recent mass protests.

The adviser condemned both the killings of general public by shooting and murders of police during the protests.

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“I am telling politicians that it will be difficult to do politics now. You can’t use police like killers and henchmen anymore,” he added.

“I will insist that police will run under the police commission. Orders from anyone will be given to the police commission, and they [the commission] will decide what to do,” he said.

“Every day, incidents of robbery are going on as there are no police on the streets. Police are demoralised,” he added.

“Unjust things have happened … I will try to severely punish those who ordered [killing of people by shooting] either at home or abroad,” he said.

“The politics of Bangladesh is the politics of sycophants. Such flattery is created that people are dying and they say nothing happened,” he added

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He asked police members not to apply excessive force.

“Our society can’t run without police,” he said.

The adviser said what the army is currently doing was not their job. But they are still doing it. They were even attacked in Gopalganj.

“A state cannot run like this. Politics of a state cannot go on like this. Bangabandhu has of course contributed, but thousands of people fought and 30 lakh people were killed to liberate the country. The state is not anyone’s personal property,” he said.

“I saw what happened in the country through BBC. But our media said nothing had happened. If media had played an objective role, police would not face this situation. Shame on you.

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“A country is submerged when the media does not speak the truth,” he said.

He threatened to shut down media outlets if they are biased towards any one entity.

Regarding the 11-point demand of police members, the adviser said, “They did not want the sky and the moon. Their demands will be met, [but] it may take time to meet some of the demands.”

He urged people to cooperate with police to bring the situation to normal.

Over 400 people including some policemen were killed and several thousand others were injured after in the monthlong protests that eventually forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5.

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